Lucy Hale Hit ‘Rock Bottom’ at 32 After Years of Alcohol Abuse. How She Broke the Cycle: ‘Life Feels So Good Now’ (Exclusive)

Lucy Hale is two-and-a-half years sober — and speaking out about her journey in hopes it resonates with even one person.

“When I got sober, my intention was never to be the poster child of sobriety,” Hale — who is receiving the 2024 Humanitarian Award from Friendly House, a women’s addiction recovery center — tells PEOPLE exclusively. “But when I began speaking about it, it came from a place of needing to heal and take my power back.”

The former Pretty Little Liars actress, 35, says the response from people “feeling seen” and relating to her story has been “the biggest gift,” and that was amplified when she visited Friendly House LA. “When women are together healing and growing, it’s just …. it’s palpable. It’s just the best feeling to witness women blossoming and overcoming the impossible.”

If you had told 20-something Hale that she would be receiving an award and inspiring others with her sobriety, she probably wouldn’t believe you. “I can’t believe I’m at a place in my life where I can talk about the things that used to bring me so much shame,” she says.

“Since a very young age, I always felt alone and misunderstood. So as a teenager, I found alcohol — which of course shut my brain off,” Hale says, recalling how her alcohol dependence began. “And it worked for me for a while, until it turned really dark.”

Hale spent her 20s battling her demons. “I always had a desire to change, but with any form of addiction, you become powerless to this obsession,” The Hating Game actress says. “I definitely had to go through my own process of getting sober. It took many, many, many years, many relapses, many dark moments, many falling on my face quite literally, but figuratively as well to figure out what was working in my life, finding out why I was drinking, because removing alcohol is just one part of it.”

While navigating her dependence on alcohol, Hale was also rising in stardom in the hit series Pretty Little Liars, an opportunity she calls her “North Star.” “If I’m perfectly honest, without my career and without that creative outlet, I don’t know if I would’ve made it,” the actress says. “I think that show and my love of what I do was my North Star truly, it really gave me purpose, and still gives me purpose. But I was constantly in this cycle of extreme depression and anxiety while having to show up to work and be on. And that ‘being on’ fueled even more drinking… I was caught in this cycle that I couldn’t get out of.”

It took “hitting rock bottom” at 32 for Hale to change the trajectory of her life. “I made the choice on the morning of January 2, 2022 that I was going to do everything I could to get sober,” she recalls to PEOPLE. “I knew if I continued on that path, I would’ve lost everything I cared about. It was the scariest choice in my life, but also it’s been the best gift. When I made that change, everything else changed. My whole life has changed.”

Two and a half years later, Hale says the journey can still be “painful and uncomfortable,” but worth every moment. “I still have to make the choice every day like, ‘Okay, today I’m staying sober and today I’m choosing me,’ but that goes deeper than just not drinking. My life feels so good now that I wouldn’t give that up for anything.”

These days life feels more “peaceful” for Hale. “My life was always chaotic so my brain chemistry has been recalibrating,” she says, noting that staying present is key. “What sobriety has taught me is to take things as they come and enjoy every moment of every day. I have big dreams, big aspirations, but where my life is at now is just trying to be as present as possible.”

In the meantime, Hale is learning to love herself. “I love that I am just showing up as myself and not having to paint a pretty picture of what people expect me to be or expect me to say,” she says. “It just felt like the right time to finally show up as me because that’s all I’ve ever really wanted. It’s been a crazy journey, but I’m very grateful.”

If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, please contact the SAMHSA helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.